#501 Fatherhood

Mark talks about his baby boy.

Todd: So, Mark, I see you have beautiful pictures of your child up here. I didn’t know you had a baby!

Mark: Yeah, baby Roy is about 1 year and 4 months old now.

Todd: Oh wow, that’s exciting!

Mark: Yeah I mean everyone said there would be lots of changes in your life, but it’s probably changed my wife’s life more than mine. But I still enjoy giving him his bath and helping put him to bed and playing with him in the mornings and at the weekend.

Todd: Oh, that’s great. So, what’s it like being a father?

Mark: A lot of fun. As I said, I think my wife has a harder job looking after him during the day. The father can have the good jobs in the evening and the early morning and at the weekend.

Todd: So is your child speaking yet?

Mark: Not quite, but he understands English and Japanese. So if we tell him off in either language he runs away and starts crying. He’s just started walking.

Todd: Ok, oh that’s got to be tough.

Mark: It’s getting tougher. We just have to childproof the house more.

Todd: So how do you childproof the house?

Mark: Make sure that all breakables are above the level where he can reach, that’s the most important thing.

Todd: Now, when you have a child, like, first of all how much does the baby sleep?

Mark: Well he’s a good sleeper. He’s basically always slept from about 9 in the morning, 9 in the evening until 6.30 or 7 in the morning. He’s waking up a little bit earlier now because it’s lighter earlier.

Todd: Oh, wow, so what does your child like to do? Do you play special games with your …, with Roy?

Mark: He’s into dancing at the moment. He really likes the beat of the BBC world music so he looks forward to the BBC news at the hour. He likes going to the sandpit and playing with the other children from the neighbourhood.